Demon Slayer: Seraph of Radiance

Crystal-clear tears dripped down, falling before Kawanishi and blending into the dust, making them impossible to distinguish.

The tears appeared strangely.

For Sayuki's expression was smiling — a twisted, sickly sweet smile as tears streamed down her face, as if she herself didn't realize she was crying.

As the tears slid down, Sayuki finally noticed the moisture on her cheeks. Her expression instantly darkened.

Sayuki… what are you doing? Why can't you just die peacefully?

Her face constantly shifted between brightness and shadow.

Then, her expression brightened again as she raised the corners of her lips, giggling at Kawanishi:

"Big brother, is it because of Sayuki? Are you still thinking about her?"

"I am her too — only with a different name now. You can't treat us differently, you know."

"You must love me as well."

"Blood Demon Art: Thorned Illusion."

A strange wave pulsed through Kawanishi's body, bringing a dizzying, intoxicating sensation.

"What are you doing? How can you hurt her like this... Whether it's Sayuki or Sayuki the demon, she is still your sister... Let it go."

"Forget about Sayuki. You love me — Sayuki the demon — who's like you now. Stay with me..."

Suddenly, countless distracting thoughts surged within him, clouding Kawanishi's mind and emotions.

He began to feel a strange fondness for Sayuki, making it hard to raise his hand against her. A sense of guilt for his previous attacks crept into his heart.

"Her Blood Demon Art… it affects my judgment."

The crystalline needles within Sayuki's spinning pupils continued to radiate waves of mental interference that wrapped around Kawanishi.

His vision twisted. The surroundings warped, stretched, faded, and dissolved.

The cabin vanished. The night disappeared. Everything around him was gone, replaced by a barren wasteland, where black thorned vines writhed beneath the surface, ready to burst forth.

But then something strange happened — the barren land around Kawanishi suddenly transformed into fertile earth. The black thorns receded.

Lush green bamboo sprouted around him, dense and vibrant, filling the air with the refreshing scent of bamboo leaves.

The brightness stung his eyes slightly. He instinctively reached up to shield them but instead felt only a warm sensation.

"Is this... sunlight?"

"This is Mount Manchiku..."

It was the Manchiku Mountain from his memories. As Kawanishi tried to catch a ray of sunlight between his fingers, it slipped through the gaps, leaving only gentle warmth in his palm.

"Big brother, it's been a while since you've seen the sun, hasn't it?"

It was Sayuki's voice.

Following her voice, Kawanishi turned — her blurry figure slowly became clear.

Golden waterfall-like hair and pink eyes — it was Sayuki's original form, joyfully dancing among the swirling bamboo leaves.

It felt so familiar. So unmistakably her.

Kawanishi sighed.

"Sayuki lied to me… her consciousness still exists."

Sayuki stopped dancing and approached him, tears staining her sorrowful face.

"Big brother, I wish I could play with you here in the bamboo forest again."

Her voice was full of sadness:

"But there's no going back now. My body has become a demon's. I've killed so many people..."

"And I can't stop myself — I'll keep killing. It hurts so much."

"The life we had… it's gone forever."

Kawanishi stepped forward and embraced her gently, comforting her:

"Sayuki, don't think about it. Sayuki the demon… she's not you."

"Leave everything to me. Tell me, what happened in Asakusa?"

Choking up, Sayuki confessed:

"I lied to you earlier. It wasn't my parents who stopped me from coming home."

"Soon after arriving in Asakusa, my health deteriorated. The doctors discovered I had an incurable illness."

"At first, I was ready to die quietly in Asakusa — to disappear from your life altogether."

"But then I met a woman named Rei. She was beautiful, with a handsome gentleman for a husband, and a lovely daughter. Rei treated me so kindly. She was devastated when she learned I was sick."

"One day, Rei and her husband, Tsukihiko, came to visit. After Rei left, Tsukihiko returned alone."

"He said he could save me — restore my health so Rei wouldn't have to grieve."

"I didn't want to die yet. I still wanted to see you. So I begged Tsukihiko to help me. He smiled and agreed… and gave me a red liquid to drink."

"The moment I drank it, it felt like my entire body was shattering, like I was dying instantly. But the thought of seeing you kept me alive."

"After that, my health recovered completely. I gained strength I never had and felt no more pain or sickness."

Her face twisted in pain as she recalled these memories, but she gritted her teeth and continued:

"But… I became a demon. A monster who eats people at night, unable to control herself."

"After killing my first victim, Sayuki the demon appeared. She took over my body at night while I pretended I was asleep."

"To avoid the pain, I chose to forget — to pretend none of it was real. But when I was attacked and nearly died earlier… everything came flooding back."

Asakusa... Tsukihiko… Who is this man? And how is he related to Muzan Kibutsuji?

A demon… with a wife and child? That's unheard of.

Pushing aside thoughts of Tsukihiko for now, Kawanishi's heart filled with sorrow for Sayuki.

She must have been terrified when she learned of her illness. Yet I couldn't help her at all.

"Sayuki… I'm sorry. When you needed me most, I wasn't there."

Sayuki gripped his hand tightly:

"No, your memory accompanied me. That was enough."

"And I didn't want you to see me like that — I looked so ugly then."

Kawanishi softly whispered:

"You were never ugly. Not once."

Sayuki smiled, but soon her face fell again:

"Big brother… don't hold back because of me. Please end it. I don't want to hurt anyone else. I want to die by your hand."

The weight of her guilt made her desperate for release.

Kawanishi solemnly promised:

"I understand. I will set you free."

"But after that, you won't disappear. You'll become part of my power, fighting by my side."

Sayuki gasped:

"Really?"

"Then… we'll always be together. That makes me happy."

Kawanishi stroked her golden hair:

"Yes — together forever, or we'll die together."

"In any case, I'll be with you. You'll never have to face the pain alone."

Sayuki's voice rang out brightly:

"Alright. It's a promise!"

Kawanishi replied:

"A promise."

The swirling bamboo leaves froze, and the entire forest faded like a pencil sketch erased swiftly.

As Kawanishi regained his senses, he was back inside the cabin.

Sayuki the demon was struggling, her face twisted with hatred:

"Damn it! Why do you keep interfering with me and big brother?!"

"Big brother, you saw her, didn't you? No! You belong to me alone!"

"I'll take you away — we'll find a place with no one else, a world of just the two of us!"

"Thorned Vines: Coiling Dragon!"

Black vines intertwined like serpentine dragons, opening a gaping, thorn-filled maw and surged from the ground, swallowing Kawanishi whole from his legs to his head.

(End of Chapter)